But if by some freak of history communism had caught up with this country, I would have been one of the first people thrown in jail.

Songs won't save the planet, but neither will books or speeches.

Historically, I believe I was correct in refusing to answer their questions.

The good and bad are all tangled up together. American popular music is loved around the world because of its African rhythm. But that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for slavery.

I feel that my whole life is a contribution.

I decline to discuss, under compulsion, where I have sung, and who has sung my songs, and who else has sung with me, and the people I have known.

There is an old Arabic proverb, 'When the king puts the poet on his payroll, he cuts off the tongue of the poet', so throughout the ages, people in power have liked to control music, they used to throw songwriters in jail throughout history, and were assassinated.